Rafael Nadal withdraws from Montreal due to injury, US Open in doubt
ATP
After Novak Djokovic's withdrawal, Rafael Nadal will also not play at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal, as he withdrew from the 2022 Canadian Open.
Nadal last competed at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. He reached the semi-finals of the tournament, but was forced to withdraw prior to his semi-final match against Nick Kyrgios because of an injury.
Since then, the Spaniard started his recovery journey, as he wants to compete at the last Grand Slam tournament of the season. Although he didn't end Wimbledon with the trophy in his hands, he's still undefeated at majors in 2022.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has already started his preparations for the North American swing, which includes the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Open, and the US Open. He likely sees himself with his 23rd Grand Slam title at the end of this swing.
However, Nadal's US Open participation is now in doubt. Nadal withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal due to an injury, and he clarified the situation in a statement for Tennis Canada.
"I have been practising for a while now without serving and started with serves four days ago. Everything has been going well. However, yesterday, after my normal practice, I felt a slight bother on my abdominal, and today it was still there."
Since Nadal felt pain in his abdomen after his practice, he didn't want to risk anything. The Spaniard consulted the situation with his doctor and chose to withdraw from the Canadian Open instead of risking worsening the injury.
"After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete. I would like to thank Eugene, the Tournament Director, and all his team for understanding and supporting me and this decision."
"I am very sad not to finally travel to Montreal. It’s a tournament that I have won 5 times and I love to play there. I seriously hope I can come back there to play in front of the amazing crowds up there."
